leash training (train, adopted, noise, cross)

[Mike in TN]

I'm trying to train my 8 month old, 15 lb. mutt to walk on a leash. I swear a month ago he was doing pretty good, now he seems to have regressed.

Some observations:

- He seems to walk slightly better with my wife than me. This really baffles me because other than walking he is really obedient and possibly even more so with me. She seems to think he's competing against me.

- If he picks up a scent or spots some critter it's pretty much over; you can pull him, call his name, anything...he's not going to look away from what he's focused on.

- He does better at night than during the daytime.

I've tried a number of different tactics and none seem to be working. I've tried:

- stopping like a "tree" anytime he gets ahead of me (which here lately is about every 5-7 steps)
- changing directions
- giving him a "correction" with the leash and/or my hand
- telling him "no" or giving another verbal cue when he gets ahead (this seems to work best when used with a light pull on the leash)

I'm really about sick of it and it's not enjoyable. It's getting to the point where I'm about to just stop walking him all together. If we have some money this check I'll look into some good obedience training, but for some reason I just don't have a good hunch about doing it through one of the big pet stores.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Katie1]

Obedience class where he will learn to listen to you with others around. Remember hes still a baby.

[kacvb1974]

All of my dogs have gone through a period around 6-9 months that's akin to the Terrible Twos...or the brattiest teenager ever, lol. It feels like two giant steps back for every step forward. Patience and being consistent pays off and it's never good to excuse unruly behavior on 'oh it's just stage' but in my experience it does always get better!! But I swear that around that age I think someone has stolen my previously well behaved dog and secretly traded him for a devil pooch.

I never use a retractable leash during training and have had a lot of success with using a harness over a collar as I have Bostons and any neck pulling can make them badly choke. Then once we get a good heel mastered and they can walk without being overly distracted, I usually switch them back to a collar with no problems. And some people have had success with a "Gentle Leader" tho I've never tried one.

Personally I agree with your hunch about the big box stores--not that you'll have a bad experience and those classes are great for puppy socialization--but because I've had so much more success using an actual behaviorist rather than just a trainer. The latter trains my dog, the behaviorist trains me. I didn't spend much more, but learned SO much more during two private sessions w/ a certified behaviorist than a month long program at a popular chain store. I find a behaviorist is willing to find what works best for an individual dog/owner and doesn't subscribe to only using methods straight from the manual.

Good luck. Hope you can find a class or professional that will make your walks more enjoyable.

[leorah]

You can do this. It just takes patience and consistency. Everyone who walks him will need to use the same techniques in order for this to work, so it's sometimes easier for one person to start the training.

Does he come to you when you call him? Does he pay attention to you when you speak to him? That's a good place to start. If you don't use a clicker, try to condition him to a verbal cue that you will use when he pleases you. Reinforce that verbal cue with a treat.

If he doesn't know "leave it" and doesn't come when he's called, he's probably not ready to leave the yard on a leash. He'll be too distracted. You need to be able to control your dog on and off leash, for your safety and that of others. Try practicing leash walking in an area where there are few distractions.

Whenever a dog pulls on the leash and still gets to go where he wants, the pulling behavior is being rewarded. You want a loose leash not a tight one. So, whenever he pulls, you stop but don't just stand there. Call him to you, and when he pays attention and the leash is slack, give him the treat and the verbal cue. Don't start walking until the leash is slack. Keep him focused on you. You can drop a treat (and say the verbal cue) next to your foot to reward him for staying close. When he walks for a few steps with a slack leash, reward him again. You want to prevent him in a positive way from walking in front of you. You want to reinforce the behavior that you want, and ignore the behavior you don't want. Punishment reinforces negative behavior because the dog still gets attention. Behavior that is not rewarded/acknowledged will usually go away.

He's already developed bad habits that he'll have to unlearn before he'll be able to learn new, good habits. He'll take his cues from your behavior, so try to be gentle, patient and consistent, and he'll learn.

He really wants to do what you want him to, but right now he's confused!

[Blondie621]

Dog to your left side always. (use a choker....a must) Leave some slag on the leash to the collar holding with your your left hand. The handle to the leash goes in your right hand. So the leash is crossing in front of you. Everytime the dog wanders off to smell or look somewhere give a nice quick pull of the choker and say no! Keep it up every second if you have to. A trainer had my 65 pound female pit leash trained in less than 5 min! It works!

[kelly3120]

Originally Posted by Mike in TN

I'm trying to train my 8 month old, 15 lb. mutt to walk on a leash. I swear a month ago he was doing pretty good, now he seems to have regressed.

Some observations:

- He seems to walk slightly better with my wife than me. This really baffles me because other than walking he is really obedient and possibly even more so with me. She seems to think he's competing against me.

- If he picks up a scent or spots some critter it's pretty much over; you can pull him, call his name, anything...he's not going to look away from what he's focused on.

- He does better at night than during the daytime.

I've tried a number of different tactics and none seem to be working. I've tried:

- stopping like a "tree" anytime he gets ahead of me (which here lately is about every 5-7 steps)
- changing directions
- giving him a "correction" with the leash and/or my hand
- telling him "no" or giving another verbal cue when he gets ahead (this seems to work best when used with a light pull on the leash)

I'm really about sick of it and it's not enjoyable. It's getting to the point where I'm about to just stop walking him all together. If we have some money this check I'll look into some good obedience training, but for some reason I just don't have a good hunch about doing it through one of the big pet stores.

Anyone have any suggestions?

remember pup is a pup and in the exploring/independent puppy stage.

depending on the dogs breed(s) the dog might take longer to be a good doggie on leash. rather then a choke collar(no offense to others) why not turn the opposite direction when pup starts to get ahead or pull? ...then turn around again and continue in the direction you went.

by correcting pup pup w/ your hand or leash you are making this a confusing experience in my opinion. Pup doesn't understand the game yet. Make it a fun game and this will work wonderfully.

my advice is to go to a private institution rather then a pet store.

You could also try clicker training pup pup to stay w/ you. If pup has something to do like look at you for treats it will not get ahead of you as much.

You could take advantage of this getting ahead of you leash thing and work on recall as well. let pup get ahead and then call him to you and start going the other way. If you can enforce recall at 8 months of age you wont care about the dog getting ahead o you on a leash because he will ALWAYS come when you call.

[Mike in TN]

It's been about a week since I posted this so here is a brief follow up.

Things are going so much better. I really don't know if he's finally getting it, if I'm more patient or what.

I don't know if it's because of my teaching background or what, but I think maybe dogs have different learning styles. For instance, Sammy seems to respond better to verbal commands better than physical corrections. So, when he gets ahead or takes to long smelling something, I'll make a distinct noise or say "no" and give a very light pull on the leash. When I do this, he seems to slow up and get back parallel to me.

He's been doing good enough that we've been able to go for about 70 minutes the last few mornings, compared with about 5 the previous weeks.

How picky are you guys about the dog getting slightly ahead of you (like 1-2 feet)? Do you not care as long as there is still slack or do you never let this happen? Just curious.

Originally Posted by Katie1

Obedience class where he will learn to listen to you with others around.

I called around and found two classes I'm interested in. One is one hour weekly for six weeks and is $70. Sounds like a pretty good deal. I also found another class being offered by a non profit. Not sure yet which I'll go to.

Remember hes still a baby.

Yeah, I know, I always have to remind myself of that. I think he picked up everything else so fast that I get frustrated when he doesn't pick up something fairly quickly.

Originally Posted by leorah

Does he come to you when you call him?

Yeah, most every time. The only time he doesn't is when we are already fairly close. I think he more associates coming to me when we are at least 10' away.

Does he pay attention to you when you speak to him?

Yeah.

If he doesn't know "leave it"...

I haven't tried teaching him that one, but if I make a noise or tell him "no" he'll leave it alone.

Punishment reinforces negative behavior because the dog still gets attention. Behavior that is not rewarded/acknowledged will usually go away.

That's really good advice - thanks! I guess why they tell you to ignore a jumping dog and he'll get the message.

Originally Posted by Blondie621

Dog to your left side always.

I've heard this before, but why is that? Sammy seems to gravitate to my right side, 95% of the time. This might be because that's how I initially began training him.

use a choker....a must

For a 15 lb. dog?

Thanks for all the advice guys!

[Katie1]

IF you use HEEL for him to be on your left then stick with it...Both of you. When you say HEEL You mean 'get over here on my left & stop what ever hes doing' meaning no lagging forging sniffing etc. If you just want to walk casual let him sniff etc try 'Lets go' command. Now if you what him to be on the right you could just say as I do with Katie 'Right' or when the sidewalks are too narrow for her to be on either side 'Behind'
I never use any command to where she walks in ftont of me #1 in the scooter I could hit her If she stops sudden #2 I could trip if she was to stop. Hope this helps.

[World Citizen]

Mike,

Being a teacher, a class will benefit you MORE than others because you already know something about teaching. You just need to find out how to teach your dog!

You mentioned that one of the class choices was a non-profit. I took puppy classes (parts 1 & 2) at the Humane Society with my last dog. The classes were good, they were discounted because I'd adopted my dog there -- and the Humane Society got a portion of the class fees.

Also, we were given a certificate for a discount on supplies at their Pet Store.

Since then I've moved and the Humane Society here doesn't offer classes so that's not an option for me but I would do it there again if it were offered!

[leorah]

Wow! You're doing really well, congratulations!!

I've heard a number of reasons why a dog is taught to heel on the left. The one that makes most sense to me (doesn't mean it's the right one) is that dogs were taught to walk on the left because the human they were accompanying was probably right handed and the dog on the left wouldn't get in the way. Hunting dogs, for example, shouldn't be walking on the side where someone is carrying a gun.

I agree that a choke collar isn't necessary for a small dog like yours. If a dog has a tendency to try to slip out of a collar, a limited slip collar (martingale style) will tighten just enough to help avoid slipping the collar, but not enough to cause choking.

Kudos to you on using positive training techniques and being aware of your dog's learning style. I'll bet you're a great teacher!